Method of forming a negative differential resistance device

ABSTRACT

A negative differential resistance (NDR) field-effect transistor element is disclosed, formed on a silicon-based substrate using conventional MOS manufacturing operations. Methods for improving a variety of NDR characteristics for an NDR element, such as peak-to-valley ratio (PVR), NDR onset voltage (V NDR ) and related parameters are also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is related to the following applications,all of which are filed simultaneously herewith, and which are herebyincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein:

[0002] Process for Controlling Performance Characteristics of a NegativeDifferential Resistance (NDR) Device; Attorney Docket No. PROG 2002-6;

[0003] Integrated Circuit Having Negative Differential Resistance (NDR)Devices With Varied Peak-to-Valley Ratios (PVRs); Attorney Docket No.PROG 2002-7.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0004] This invention is directed to processes for making semiconductordevices, circuits, dies and systems, particularly those that utilizenegative differential resistance (NDR) field-effect transistor (FET)elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Silicon based devices that exhibit a negative differentialresistance (NDR) characteristic have long been sought after in thehistory of semiconductor devices. A new type of CMOS compatible, NDRcapable FET is disclosed in the following King et al. applications:

[0006] Ser. No. 09/603,101 entitled “A CMOS-PROCESS COMPATIBLE, TUNABLENDR (NEGATIVE DIFFERENTIAL RESISTANCE) DEVICE AND METHOD OF OPERATINGSAME”; and

[0007] Ser. No. 09/603,102 entitled “CHARGE TRAPPING DEVICE AND METHODFOR IMPLEMENTING A TRANSISTOR HAVING A NEGATIVE DIFFERENTIAL RESISTANCEMODE” now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,479,862 on Nov. 12, 2002; and

[0008] Ser. No. 09/602,658 entitled “CMOS COMPATIBLE PROCESS FOR MAKINGA TUNABLE NEGATIVE DIFFERENTIAL RESISTANCE (NDR) DEVICE;

[0009] all of which were filed Jun. 22, 2000 and which ate herebyincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The advantagesof such device are well set out in such materials, and are not repeatedhere.

[0010] As also explained in such references, NDR devices can be used ina number of circuit applications, including multiple-valued logiccircuits, static memory (SRAM) cells, latches, and oscillators to name afew. The aforementioned King et al. applications describe abreak-through advancement that allows NDR devices to be implemented insilicon-based IC technology, using conventional planar processingtechniques as for complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) FETdevices. The integration of NDR devices with CMOS devices provides anumber of benefits for high-density logic and memory circuits.

[0011] It is clear, from the advantages presented by the above-describedNDR device, that overall improvements in manufacturing, testing andoperation of the same are desirable to refine and proliferate suchtechnologies.

[0012] In addition, enhancements in trap location control, trap energylevel control, and trap formation, are also useful for these types ofNDR devices, and could be beneficial to other types of trap-baseddevices as well.

[0013] Furthermore, the prior art to date has been limited generally todevices in which the peak-to-valley ratio (PVR) is not easilyadjustable. It would be useful, for example, to be able to control thePVR directly during manufacture, so as to permit a wide variety of NDRbehaviors for different circuits on a single die/wafer. Alternatively,the ability to control PVR during normal operation of a device wouldalso be useful, but is generally not possible with current NDRtechnologies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The object of the present invention, therefore, is to address theaforementioned limitations in the prior art, and to provide additionalembodiments of trapping devices, NDR devices, and methods of making,operating and testing the same. These and other objects are accomplishedby various embodiments of the present invention as described in detailbelow, it being understood by those skilled in the art that manyembodiments of the invention will not use or require all aspects of theinvention as described herein.

[0015] A first aspect of the invention, therefore, concerns a method offorming a silicon based negative differential resistance (NDR) fieldeffect transistor (FET) comprising the preferred steps of: providing asubstrate; forming a first NDR region for the NDR FET over a firstportion of the substrate using a first impurity, the first NDR regionbeing adapted for imparting an NDR characteristic to the NDR FET;placing a second impurity in the first portion of the substrate toadjust a threshold voltage characteristic of the NDR FET; performing afirst thermal treatment operation for the NDR FET after the above arecompleted; forming a gate insulating layer for the NDR FET over thefirst portion of the substrate; performing a second thermal treatmentoperation for the NDR FET; forming a gate electrode for the NDR FET;forming a source region and a separate drain region for the NDR FETadjacent to the gate electrode, the source region and drain region beingcoupled through an NDR FET channel located in the first portion of thesubstrate.

[0016] In this manner, an NDR FET preferably operates with a negativedifferential resistance characteristic when sufficient charge carriersfrom the channel are temporarily trapped in the first NDR region. Thefirst impurity is preferably a first type dopant, and the secondimpurity is preferably a second type dopant, which is opposite to thefirst type dopant. The first thermal treatment operation is preferablyperformed with a furnace, while the second thermal treatment operationis preferably performed with a rapid thermal anneal system. Furthermore,in addition to the above, a third thermal treatment operation ispreferably performed after the gate electrode is formed.

[0017] In later steps, a silicide contact to the gate electrode and/orone or both of the source region and the drain region can be formed.

[0018] Some embodiments of the invention, therefore, are silicon basednegative differential resistance (NDR) field effect transistor (FET)which have a peak-to-valley current ratio (PVR) that exceeds ten (10)over a temperature range of 50° C. In some instances, a PVR can exceedone thousand (1000) over a temperature range of 100° C.

[0019] In other embodiments, a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate isused; a variety of substrates are suitable for the present invention,including silicon carbide (SiC) or strained Si.

[0020] The impurities added to the FET are used as charge trappingsites, which preferably have an energy characteristic that is higherthan a conduction band edge of the substrate.

[0021] In other embodiments, an NDR FET and a non-NDR FET are made atthe same time using common manufacturing operations. The non-NDR FET isformed in a second region of the semiconductor substrate. For example,isolation regions, LDD implants, gate insulators, gate electrodes,contacts, source/drain implants, etc., can be done using a commonprocessing step. In such instances, an NDR region for an NDR device ispreferably constructed from a gate insulator region for an NDR FET.

[0022] In still other embodiments, two different types of NDR devicescan be formed in a common substrate. Thus, a second NDR region foranother NDR element is formed over a third region of the semiconductorsubstrate, the second NDR region being adapted for imparting a secondNDR characteristic different from an NDR characteristic for a first NDRFET.

[0023] A related aspect of the invention, therefore, pertains to acharge-trap based negative differential resistance (NDR) element, whichoperates with an NDR characteristic defined by a peak current and avalley current. By appropriate distribution of charge traps in atrapping region of the NDR element, including controlling aconcentration and energy of the same, a peak-to-valley current ratio(PVR) for the NDR element can be imparted which exceeds ten (10) over atemperature range spanning 50° C.

[0024] In other embodiments the PVR can be constructed to vary by lessthan a factor of five in an operating temperature spanning 25° C. and125° C. In still other embodiments, the PVR exceeds 1000 in an operatingtemperature spanning 25° C. and 125° C. The trapping region preferablyforms an interface with a channel of a field effect transistorassociated with the NDR element.

[0025] Other embodiments of charge trapping devices can be similarlyconstructed to achieve similar performance.

[0026] Another aspect of the invention concerns a method of forming anegative differential resistance (NDR) device comprising the steps of:forming a gated silicon-based NDR element; and setting a peak-to-valleyratio (PVR) characteristic of the gated silicon-based NDR element duringmanufacture of the silicon-based semiconductor transistor to a targetPVR value located in a range between a first PVR value and a second PVRvalue. Thus, a target PVR value can be varied during manufacturing ofthe NDR device within a semiconductor process such that the NDR devicecan be configured to have a PVR value ranging between a first usable PVRvalue and a second usable PVR value, where the first usable PVR valueand the second PVR value vary by at least a factor of ten (10).

[0027] In some instances, a desired PVR value can be set using a singleprocessing operation, such as an implant.

[0028] A preferred approach uses only metal oxide semiconductor (MOS)compatible processing operations. The inventive process is flexibleenough so that within a particular manufacturing facility, a firstsemiconductor substrate on a first wafer and a second separatesemiconductor substrate on a second wafer can have different target PVRvalues imparted at different times. The different PVR values can beprogrammed into a semiconductor processing apparatus such as animplanter, a furnace, an anneal chamber, a deposition reactor, etc. AnNDR voltage onset point (VNDR) is also preferably set duringmanufacture.

[0029] In still other more specific embodiments, a PVR (and/or a VNDR)value can be set during manufacture by controlling one or more generalprocess parameters.

[0030] For example, in some embodiments, a PVR and/or VNDR can be setduring manufacture by controlling a thickness of a gate insulator grownfor the NDR device. In particular, a PVR characteristic can be increasedsimply by increasing a thickness of the gate insulator. The gateinsulator is preferably at least 5 nm thick, and can be a single layer,or a composite of two different materials. In some applications the gatewill include both a thermal oxide and a deposited oxide based material.Thus, it is possible in some applications to have a common substratethat includes a silicon based NDR device with a first PVR characteristicusing a first gate insulator thickness and a second silicon based NDRdevice with a second PVR characteristic using a second gate insulatorthickness.

[0031] In another embodiment, a PVR and/or VNDR can be set duringmanufacture by controlling a channel length used for a silicon based NDRFET. Because the present invention scales very well, a PVRcharacteristic tracks a channel length, so that a higher PVR can beachieved by using a smaller channel, and a lower PVR can be achieved byusing a longer channel. Accordingly, PVR characteristics can beestablished through conventional masking operations which define achannel length, and/or which define a source/drain region implant. Thechannel can also have a size that is defined by a variable sized spacerformed on the sidewalls of a gate electrode. Thus, a PVR value can beincreased significantly through even small reductions in channellengths.

[0032] In still another embodiment, a PVR and/or VNDR can be set duringmanufacture by controlling an impurity species and/or impurity doseintroduced into a charge trapping layer associated with the NDR elementto match a target charge trap profile. In a preferred approach Boron isselected as the impurity at a dose ranging from 1*10¹⁴/cm² to 3* 10¹⁴atoms/cm² and an energy of <10 keV. This results in a target charge trapprofile in which a concentration of charge traps is greater than about1*10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ at a trapping region of the charge trapping layer, andless than about 1*10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ at a bulk region of the charge trappinglayer. A PVR can thus be altered merely by selecting another impurity,another dosage, etc. For example, increasing an impurity dose of Boronby 50% can result in an increase of greater than 100% in a PVRcharacteristic. As with the other PVR processing embodiments, an NDRvoltage onset point (VNDR) can also be controlled in this fashion.

[0033] In still another embodiment, a PVR and/or VNDR can be set duringmanufacture by controlling an overall trap distribution, such as atarget location of the charge traps and a target concentration of thecharge traps. In a preferred embodiment, the charge traps aredistributed within a target location is a region that is less than about0.5 nm thick. Furthermore, a concentration of traps is arranged so thatan interface concentration is least an order of magnitude greater thanin bulk areas of the charge trapping layer.

[0034] In other embodiments, a PVR and/or VNDR can be set duringmanufacture by controlling a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) operation. Apreferred approach is to use a short cycle at a temperature that exceeds1000° C. for at least part of the cycle in a conventional lamp basedchamber. This type of operation serves to focus and concentrate chargetraps at a channel interface region, as opposed to bulk regions.

[0035] In still other embodiments, a PVR and/or VNDR can be set duringmanufacture by controlling a lightly doped drain operation, including animplant species and/or dosage, performed during formation of a lightlydoped drain region operation. In a preferred embodiment, arsenic is usedas the dopant species at a dosage in excess of 1*10¹⁵ atoms/cm² toeffectuate the implant operation. In other embodiments, phosphorus isused as the dopant species at a dosage in excess of 1*10¹⁵ atoms/cm² toeffectuate the implant operation. Since Arsenic achieves a PVR that isat least 2 times greater than Phosphorus, it is preferred for thoseapplications where PVR is more critical to the operation of a circuit.

[0036] Related aspects of the invention concern a semiconductorprocessing apparatus for manufacturing a negative differentialresistance (NDR) device on a silicon wafer which can be programmed totailor a specific PVR value on a wafer-by-wafer basis (or even die bydie). The apparatus is preferably located in a conventionalsemiconductor fab, and includes a programmable controller responsive toa negative differential resistance (NDR) related process recipeassociated with making the NDR device. An NDR related process recipeincludes one or more processing steps associated with effectuating atarget peak-to-valley current ratio (PVR) for an NDR device. Theprocessing chamber coupled to the programmable controller is configuredto perform at least one semiconductor processing operation on thesilicon wafer based on the NDR related process recipe. The semiconductorprocessing operation can be varied within the processing chamber toachieve a PVR value that varies between a first value, and a secondvalue that is at least twice the first value.

[0037] In other embodiments, the PVR value can be varied between 10 and100 in the semiconductor processing apparatus. The process chamber canbe an implanter, an RTA chamber, a deposition reactor etc.

[0038] Other aspects of the invention concern different types ofoptimizations for charge trap profiling for charge trap devices,including NDR devices.

[0039] In an NDR FET embodiment, counter-doping is performed to improvea threshold voltage. Thus, a semiconductor device having a control gate,a source region, and a drain region is formed using the steps of:providing a substrate having a first type of conductivity; forming achannel between the source and drain region for carrying the chargecarriers between the source and drain regions; the channel is doped intwo separate operations such that: during a first channel dopingoperation the channel is doped with first channel impurities that alsohave the first type of conductivity; during a second channel dopingoperation the channel is counter-doped with second channel impuritiesthat have a second type of conductivity. The second type of conductivityis opposite to the first type of conductivity. As a result of the firstchannel doping operation and the second channel doping operation thechannel region as formed has a net first type of conductivity. A chargetrapping region that has an interface with the channel is also formed.The charge trapping region has charge trapping sites, which temporarilytrap charge carriers along the interface and permit the device tooperate with a negative differential resistance characteristic. Thecharge trapping sites are derived at least in part from the firstchannel impurities forming a charge trap distribution that issubstantially concentrated at the interface.

[0040] In a preferred embodiment, Arsenic is used for the second channeldoping operation, while Boron is used for the first channel dopingoperation. While silicon is used as a preferred substrate, othersubstrates could be used, such as SOI, SiC, strained Si, etc. Moreover,different crystal orientation variants of silicon (111, 100, 110) mayresult in different charge trapping characteristics.

[0041] The charge trapping region is typically formed as part of gateinsulator for the semiconductor device. In other variations, the chargetraps can be directly implanted through a gate insulator after thelatter is completed. In still further variants, the charge traps can beformed as part of a two layer trapping region, such as would be derivedfrom a combined thermal oxide and deposited oxide.

[0042] In other variations, the charge trapping region can be engineeredto not extend throughout an entire length of the interface with thechannel. In other instances, the charge trapping region extends from asource region to enhance source side trapping. In still otherembodiments, trapping sites are distributed unevenly along the interfaceto effectuate a variable trapping rate for the energetic carries alongthe interface. A trapping rate can also be controlled in some instances,so that it varies substantially proportional to a distance along theinterface, and/or is preferentially greater in one region overanother—i.e., such that in a source region it is greater than that neara drain region.

[0043] In other embodiments, the charge trapping sites are formed in twodistinct operations. For example, an implant operation is used forforming a first set of charge trapping sites, and a heat treatmentoperation (such as in an steam ambient) forms a second set of chargetrapping sites. In still other embodiments, different implants could beused of the same species, or different atomic species to createdifferent types of charge traps (i.e., such as Boron and silicon ormetal nanoparticles).

[0044] A further related aspect of the invention concerns usingannealing operations to help ensure that impurities are preferentiallyconcentrated at an interface, where they can form appropriate trapsites. This is achieved by forming a silicon based negative differentialresistance (NDR) semiconductor device with the steps of: providing asubstrate; and forming a channel region for carrying a current of chargecarriers for the silicon based NDR semiconductor device; and implantingfirst impurities into the channel region; and forming a first dielectriclayer that has an interface with the channel; and annealing the channelregion to reduce implantation defects and distribute the firstimpurities so as to concentrate them along the interface with thechannel. The first impurities as distributed along the interface formcharge trapping sites with an energy level adapted for temporarilytrapping the charge carriers to effectuate an NDR characteristic.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment, the first impurities have a firstconductivity (p) type that is the same as the substrate. The siliconbased NDR semiconductor device is typically a field effect transistor(FET), but can include other charge trap based NDR devices.

[0046] In still another variant, additional annealing operations can beperformed to further enhance a trap distribution. Thus, thisimplementation involves performing a plurality of separate annealingoperations on the semiconductor structure, wherein at least a first oneof the separate annealing operations is adapted so as to distribute andconcentrate the carrier trapping sites along an interface with thetransistor channel region and with a reduced concentration in a bulkregion of the trapping layer. Later separate annealing operations areadapted to alter a concentration and/or arrangement of the chargetrapping sites along the interface.

[0047] A further related aspect, therefore, concerns a silicon basedfield effect transistor (FE) comprising a trapping layer proximate to atransistor channel region for the FET, the trapping layer including acarrier trapping sites configured for trapping and de-trapping carriersfrom the channel region. The carrier trapping sites are distributed suchthat a concentration of the carrier trapping sites in a bulk region ofthe trapping layer is at least one order of magnitude less than it isalong an interface with the transistor channel region. In this fashion,the FET can exhibit negative differential resistance as a result of thetrapping and de-trapping of carriers.

[0048] In a preferred embodiment, a concentration of the carriertrapping sites at the interface per cubic centimeter is at least twoorders of magnitude greater than a concentration of the carrier trappingsites within the bulk region of the trapping layer. Furthermore, theconcentration of an impurity per cubic centimeter used for the carriertrapping sites is at least two times higher at a trapping layer-channelinterface than in the channel region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of anegative differential resistance (NDR) field effect transistor (FET) ofthe present invention;

[0050]FIG. 2 is a representative plot of the current-vs.-voltagecharacteristic of the NDR FET of FIG. 1;

[0051]FIG. 3A is a band diagram generally illustrating the energyrelationship of conduction bands, valence bands and charge trappingsites of a charge trapping region, including variants which can be usedin a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0052]FIG. 3B is a plot of the impurity concentration vs. depth in oneembodiment of the NDR FET;

[0053]FIG. 4 depicts the overall steps used in a preferred process tomake NDR devices, including an NDR FET of the present invention;

[0054] FIGS. 5 to 16 generally illustrate the steps used in a preferredembodiment of an NDR device manufacturing process of the presentinvention.

[0055]FIG. 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a startingsubstrate used to manufacture an NDR element—including a preferred NDRFET embodiment of the present invention—as well as other conventionalsemiconductor elements and devices;

[0056]FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming electrically isolated active areas in surface regions of thesubstrate;

[0057]FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming a sacrificial insulating layer on the surface of the substratein an area where an NDR FET of a preferred embodiment is to be formed;

[0058]FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step ofselectively introducing a first type of impurities into the surface ofthe substrate in an area where an NDR-FET of a preferred embodiment isto be formed;

[0059]FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step ofselectively introducing a second type of impurities into the surface ofthe substrate in an area where an NDR-FET of a preferred embodiment isto be formed, as part of a counter-doping step;

[0060]FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming an additional insulating layer on various regions of the surfaceof the substrate where active devices, including NDR FET and otherconventional FETs, are to be formed;

[0061]FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step ofdepositing a gate film for both NDR FETs and conventional FETs;

[0062]FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step ofpatterning the gate film into gate electrodes for both NDR FETs andconventional FETs;

[0063]FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the effects ofone or more post-gate oxidation anneal steps used to increase a densityof charge traps at a channel interface of the NDR FET of a preferredembodiment;

[0064]FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming source and drain extension regions with an Arsenic implant;

[0065]FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming more heavily doped source/drain contact regions for an NDR FETand other conventional FETs;

[0066]FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the finalresults of depositing an electrically insulating interlayer film,forming contact holes in the interlayer film, and depositing a metallayer and patterning the metal layer to form interconnections to theNDR-FET and conventional FETs.

[0067] FIGS. 17A-17K are charts, graphs and other depictions ofexperimental data obtained for various embodiments of an NDR FET device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0068] A preferred embodiment of the invention is now described withreference to the Figures provided herein. It will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that the present examples are but one of manypossible implementations of the present teachings, and therefore thepresent invention is not limited by such.

[0069] The present invention is expected to find substantial uses in thefield of integrated circuit electronics as an additional fundamental“building block” for digital memory, digital logic, and analog circuits.Thus, it can be included within a memory cell, within a Boolean functionunit, and similar such environments.

[0070] Brief Summary of Prior Art

[0071]FIG. 1 shows a prior art NDR FET 100 of the type described in theKing et al. applications noted earlier. This device is essentially asilicon based MISFET that includes an NDR characteristic as well. Thus,the features of device 100 are created with conventional MOS based FETprocessing, modified where appropriate as to include operations foreffectuating an NDR behavior.

[0072] Accordingly, in FIG. 1, a gate electrode 110 is coupled to a gateterminal 115 for receiving a gate select signal. The device 100 isformed within a substrate 120 (preferably p-type) and includes awell-known source 140 and drain region 150 coupled by a channel 135. Abody contact terminal 125 provides a body bias to device 100, andsource/drain voltages are provided through conventional source/drainterminals 145 and 155 respectively. A gate insulator layer 130 issituated between channel 135 and gate electrode 110. Again, thesefeatures are all common to most standard MISFETs; additionalconventional features (such as retrograde substrate doping, “halo” or“pocket” doping, gate-sidewall spacers, shallow source and drainjunctions) are not shown for purposes of better illustrating the natureof the invention.

[0073] The additional features in device 100 which are somewhatdifferent from a conventional FET and which impart an NDR behaviorinclude the following: (1) a slightly thicker gate electrode 130; (2) alightly p-type doped channel surface region; and (3) a charge trappingregion 137. These modifications cooperate to impart an NDR behavior tosuch FET for reasons set out in detail in the aforementioned King et al.applications.

[0074] This behavior is illustrated in FIG. 2, where device draincurrent versus drain voltage is plotted for two different gate voltagesto show how an NDR mode can be affected by a suitable selection of agate voltage as well. It can be seen that for a fixed gate voltageV_(GS) relative to the source, a drain current I_(DS) firstly increasesin a first region 210 with drain-to-source voltage VDS, similarly to thebehavior that is seen in drain current in a conventional n-channel MOStransistor. However, in region 220, beyond a certain drain voltagelevel, drain current decreases with further increases in voltage, i.e.the device exhibits an NDR mode with NDR characteristics. The drainvoltage at which the drain current begins to decrease (i.e., point 225where V_(DS)=V_(NDR)) is adjustable through suitable selections ofimpurity species, channel length, threshold voltage, etc.

[0075] As seen also in FIG. 2, the invention can be seen as exploitingthe fact that, as the threshold voltage V_(t) dynamically increases(because of the accumulation of trapped charges) with increasingdrain-to-source voltage V_(DS), a drain current I_(DS) (which isproportional to V_(g)−V_(t)) will decrease. Thus, a current valuedepicted in curve 228 will generally follow the set of continuous curves229 shown in FIG. 2 for a given V_(g) and varying V_(t). Unlike otherprior art devices, the so-called “peak-to-valley ratio,” a key figure ofmerit in NDR devices, as well as the NDR onset voltage, can also beprecisely tuned through suitable combinations of impurity species,doping concentrations, device geometries and applied voltages.Furthermore, an NDR behavior of the present invention can achieve a PVRwell in excess of 100, 1000, or even 106 across a wide temperature range(−40° C. to +150° C.), which far exceeds the capabilities ofconventional NDR devices.

[0076] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theentirety of the preceding description is merely provided by way ofbackground to better illustrate the context of the present inventions,and thus, by necessity, is somewhat abbreviated. It is not intended tobe, nor should it be taken, as a complete analysis of the structural,operational or physical of the aforementioned King et al. inventions.Nor should it in any way be construed as limiting in any way of theinventions disclosed therein.

[0077] Trap Energy Characteristics

[0078]FIG. 3A illustrates a preferred energy-band diagram (electronenergy vs. distance in the direction perpendicular to a semiconductorsurface) of device 100 depicted in FIG. 1. When a gate bias is applied,an inversion layer of electrons is formed at the semiconductor surface,i.e. the FET is turned on. A gate 310 is shown to be heavily dopedpolycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si), a gate dielectric 330 is shown to beSiO₂, and a silicon semiconductor substrate 320 is p-type as is the casein modern CMOS technologies. Again, it will be understood that othermaterials known in the art can be substituted instead.

[0079] A lower edge E_(c) of the conduction band of allowed electronenergy states for semiconductor material 320 is shown, as well as anupper edge E_(v) of a valence band of allowed electron energy states.Conventional device physics theories mandates that there are no allowedelectron energy states within a band gap corresponding to a range ofenergies from E_(v) to E_(c). Accordingly, no mobile electron insemiconductor material 320 can have an energy within this range.

[0080] As seen in FIG. 3A, a conduction-band electron in a channelregion (near an interface of gate dielectric 330 and semiconductorsubstrate 320 must lose energy (e.g via a lattice collision) in order tobecome trapped by a first type of charge trap 336 which has an energylevel below E_(c). Afterwards, it must be supplied with energy (e.g.from lattice vibrations) in order to be detrapped back into theconduction band in silicon semiconductor substrate 320. For reasons,which are apparent from the aforementioned King et al. applications,this type of trap, therefore, is not particularly useful foreffectuating an NDR characteristic.

[0081] In contrast, a second type of charge trap 335, which has anenergy level very near but above EC can trap a conduction-band electronwith total energy equal to its energy level, without requiring a latticecollision. Of course, charge trap 335 has an additional benefit in thatit can also trap conduction-band electrons which have energies higherthan an energy level of such trap. For these second type of traps, atrapped electron can easily move back into an allowed energy state inthe conduction band, and hence it is easily detrapped. These secondtypes of traps are particularly suited for adapting a conventional FETto operate with an NDR characteristic. In will be noted that interfacetraps which are energetically located well above the semiconductorconduction band edge (not shown) will have no effect on FET performanceuntil a significant percentage of the mobile carriers in the channelhave sufficient kinetic energy to become trapped.

[0082] Thus, a preferred primary mechanism for achieving NDR behavior inan insulated gate field-effect transistor is to trap energetic (“hot”)carriers from a channel with traps that also rapidly de-trap. The trapsshould be configured preferably so that a trap energy level should behigher than the semiconductor conduction band edge, in order for it toprimarily (if not exclusively) trap hot carriers. For example, a trapwhich is energetically located 0.5 eV above the semiconductor conductionband edge can only trap electrons from the semiconductor which havekinetic energy equal to or greater than 0.5 eV. For high-speed NDR FEToperation, it is desirable to have the carrier trapping and de-trappingprocesses occur as quickly as possible, as this permits a rapid anddynamic change in a threshold voltage for the FET.

[0083] Thus, the King et al. NDR device uses tunneling to a charge trap,and not tunneling to a conduction band per se as required in someconventional NDR devices such as tunnel diodes. All that is required isthat the carriers be given sufficient energy to become trapped inlocalized allowed energy states within one or more dielectric layers(including for example a gate insulator layer made up of conventionaldielectric materials). It is not necessary to set up a complicated setof precisely tuned layers in a particular fashion to achieve acontinuous set of conduction bands as required in conventional NDRdevices, and this is another reason why such invention is expected toachieve more widespread use than competing technologies.

[0084] Finally, the physical distribution of such traps is alsodescribed in the King et al. applications, and an approximateillustration of the same is shown in FIG. 3B. This chart illustrates ageneral relationship between charge trap concentration and distance. Theleft side of the graph represents a bulk region of a trapping layer (inthis case gate dielectric 330), which as can be seen, preferably has avery low concentration of charge traps (i.e., something less than 10¹⁶atoms/cm³. The concentration increases rapidly near an interface 360,and the latter contains a maximum concentration of impurities (in thiscase Boron as noted with circles) useable as charge traps, preferably inexcess of 10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, and most preferably in excess of 10²⁰atoms/cm³. The concentration of Boron then decreases and is less againon a substrate side 320. The areal concentration of traps should not beexcessive, however (i.e., greater than 10⁴/cm²), because this can alsolead to undesirable electron conduction between the source and drain viatrap-to-trap hopping or channel-to-trap-to-channel hopping.

[0085] As can be seen in FIG. 3B, a majority of the charge traps shouldbe placed in close proximity to the channel, i.e. within 0.5 nm to 1.5nm of the gate-dielectric/semiconductor interface, or right at theinterface itself. This can be achieved using a low-energy implant ofBoron at approximate dose of 2 to 3*10¹⁴ atoms/cm². It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the above figures are merelyrepresentative, and it is expected that such values (distances,concentrations) will vary in accordance with a particular processgeometry, device operational requirements, etc. Thus, the presentinvention is not limited to any particular arrangement of such traps. Atriangle symbol designates an overall “net” p-type doping in thechannel, which, for reasons set forth herein, should not be too highlydoped p-type, as this will undesirably increase a threshold voltage.

[0086] In operation, a trapping/de-trapping mechanism preferably startsat a drain end of the channel, and proceeds towards a source side of thechannel, to rapidly shut off the transistor. This is a result of thefact that the electrons have a maximum kinetic energy by the time theyteach the drain side of the channel, and thus are more likely to betrapped first in that region. As the voltage on the drain increases pastV_(NDR), the electrons will acquire more and more energy as a result ofthe increased field, at locations closer to the source. It can be seenfrom this mechanism as well that the NDR FET has good scalingcapabilities, because as a channel length shortens, thetrapping/detrapping mechanism can “switch” the transistor off even morerapidly.

[0087] This extra degree of freedom—i.e. the ability to independentlycontrol a FET channel conductivity through a source/drain bias voltage(in additional to the conventional gate voltage modulation) provides yetanother example of the advantages presented by the present invention.Furthermore, this particular channel shut-off mechanism scales as wellor better than conventional MOSFET turn-off techniques, which, as iswell known, must rely on thinner and thinner oxides (or esotericmaterials) to achieve a sufficiently large field to deplete the channelof carriers in the conventional fashion (i.e., through an applied gatevoltage).

[0088] Overview of Process Flow

[0089] A preferred process flow for manufacturing an NDR device that isintegrable into a conventional MOS manufacturing process is illustratedin FIG. 4. The advantage of such process, as described in earlierapplications assigned to the applicant, is that additional conventionalnon-NDR circuitry (memory and logic) can thus be manufactured at thesame time.

[0090] Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, an initial substrate is chosen at step405, which in a preferred embodiment is silicon, but which could besilicon germanium, silicon on insulator, strained silicon, siliconcarbide, or any other desired material. Of course it will be understoodthat if a non-silicon substrate were selected to implement the presentinventions, many of the processing steps below would have to be modifiedin accordance with well-understood principles known to skilled artisansin this field of art.

[0091] At step 410 isolation regions are formed in the substrate, which,in a preferred approach are shallow trench isolation (STI) regions. Atstep 415, a sacrificial oxide layer is grown. At step 420, P wells and Nwells are formed in the substrate as well.

[0092] At step 425, impurities are introduced into NDR device regions,designed to facilitate a trapping/de-trapping mechanism noted earlier.Again, a variety of techniques are available for doing this asreferenced in the aforementioned King et al. applications, including,for example, a relatively high dose implantation of boron (in excess of1*10¹⁴ atoms/cm²) into channel regions of NDR FETs.

[0093] At step 430, an optional NDR channel counter-doping step (n-typedopant implant) is performed, to counter some of the effects of a NDRtrap implant, and thus reduce a net p-type channel doping concentration.This results in lowered voltage thresholds, a steeper subthresholdswing, and correspondingly higher PVR values.

[0094] At step 435, an optional thermal anneal is performed, to removedamage to the semiconductor crystal lattice and thereby ensure properdistribution and concentration of the traps within a trapping regionstep. This is done to ensure that the traps do not migrate too far intothe trapping region, causing excessive leakage, slow operation, and poorreliability.

[0095] At step 440, the sacrificial oxide layer is optionallyselectively removed and a gate insulator is formed which can be used forboth an NDR FET and a regular FET. This insulator can be comprised ofmultiple layers of dielectric materials, and can be of differentthickness and composition in an NDR FET region than in a regular FETregion.

[0096] At step 445, an optional thermal anneal is performed (preferablya rapid thermal anneal, or “RTA”), to increase a density of charge trapsat a channel/insulator interface.

[0097] At step 450, a gate electrode is formed which, again, can be usedfor both an NDR FET and a regular FET.

[0098] At step 455, an optional post gate-etch re-oxidation anneal isperformed to further modify (if needed) a distribution and density ofcharge traps at a channel/insulator interface and/or to heal the gateinsulator in the regions along the edges of the gate electrodes.

[0099] At step 460, a “lightly doped drain” (LDD) implant is performedto form shallow source and drain regions (which can be for either/bothNDR and non-NDR FETs).

[0100] At step 465, an optional anneal is performed to repair any damageto the semiconductor crystal lattice caused by the LDD implant.

[0101] At step 470, spacers are formed (which can be for either/both NDRand non-NDR FETs) along the sidewalls of the gate electrodes to offsetthe deep source/drain contact regions.

[0102] At step 471, optional raised source and drain contact regions areformed, preferably by selective epitaxial growth of silicon or asilicon-germanium alloy, which can be for either/both NDR and non-NDRFETs.

[0103] At step 475, a high-dose source/drain implant step is performedto form heavily doped source/drain contact regions, which, again, can befor either/both NDR and non-NDR FETs.

[0104] At step 480, an anneal is performed to repair any damage causedby the source/drain implant and to activate the implanted dopant atoms.

[0105] At step 485, an optional silicidation process module is used toform low resistance contacts as required at gate and/or source/drainregions—again, for either/both NDR and non-NDR FETs.

[0106] At step 490, an electrically insulating passivation layer isdeposited and holes are formed within this layer to allow electricalcontact to regions of either/both NDR and non-NDR FETs.

[0107] At step 495, electrical interconnections (which can be made usingcopper, aluminum, or other low resistivity material) are formed over theNDR and non-NDR FETs to complete wiring of the devices and form anintegrated circuit. Such interconnections can be formed with multiplelayers of conductive material separated from each other by interposinginsulating layers with holes (“vias”) to allow for selective electricalconnection between layers.

[0108] Final passivation layers are then typically added in the back endof the manufacturing process as well.

[0109] A further detailed description now follows for those steps abovewhich are more germane to the present invention. As many of these stepsare conventional, however, they are not explained herein in detail. Manyof the particular structures, and formation steps for these layers andregions will depend on desired performance characteristics and processrequirements, and thus a variety of techniques are expected to besuitable. Furthermore, while examples of various techniques arepresented herein for a manufacturing process embodying the presentinvention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that theseate merely exemplary of current state of the art approaches. Thus, thepresent invention is intended to encompass other yet-to-be developedprocesses currently unknown to the inventor over time that may replacesuch techniques and yet still be entirely suitable for use with thepresent invention.

[0110] Details of Process Flow

[0111] FIGS. 5 to 16 generally illustrate the detailed operational stepsused in a preferred embodiment of an NDR device manufacturing process ofthe present invention.

[0112] In particular, FIG. 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of astarting substrate used to manufacture an NDR element (in accordancewith step 405 described earlier)—including a preferred NDR FETembodiment of the present invention—as well as other conventionalsemiconductor elements and devices. As seen in FIG. 5, a preferredsubstrate 1000 consisting substantially of silicon (Si) is prepared.Because the NDR-FET and IGFET are n-channel devices, the portions of thesubstrate in which the NDR-FET(s) and IGFET(s) are to be formed arepreferably p-type.

[0113] In this regard it will be understood that starting substrate 1000in FIG. 5 could also refer to a p-type well formed in the surface(within the top 1000 nm) of a starting substrate by ion implantationand/or diffusion, either before or after the definition of “active”areas, in any number of known techniques known to those skilled in theart. It should be noted that substrate 1000 could also besilicon-on-insulator (SOI), and may eventually contain one or moreadditional layers of silicon-germanium alloy material or silicon carbidematerial (not shown). When selecting these latter substrates, of course,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the later processing stepsdescribed below would have to be modified in well-known ways toaccommodate such change.

[0114]FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming electrically isolated active areas in surface regions of thesubstrate (in accordance with step 410 described earlier) including in afirst area 1015 where an NDR element (such as an NDR FET) is to beformed, and a second area 1015′ where a non-NDR element (such as aconventional FET) is to be formed. To better emphasize the presentteachings, in FIG. 6 (and other figures below) the later processingsteps are shown in a “split” view to help explain the different impactand result on NDR regions and non-NDR regions across the substrate 1000for various operational steps described herein. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art that these figures are not intended to be toscale, and that actual substrate profiles will likely deviate (perhapssignificantly) in an actual manufacturing embodiment. Nonetheless theyare helpful to understand the important aspects of the presentinvention.

[0115] Consequently, in FIG. 6, electrically isolated “field” areas 1010in a surface of substrate 1000 are formed by any of several currentwell-established techniques, including local oxidation of silicon(LOCOS) and/or shallow trench isolation (STI). The thickness of anisolation oxide layer 1010 typically falls in a range from 100 nm to 700nm, while a depth of shallow trench isolation structures typically fallsin the range from 100 nm to 1000 nm. Other later developed techniqueswill be useable with the present invention as well.

[0116] Moreover, it should be noted that the precise details of theseareas are not critical to the operation of the present invention, but asignificant advantage of course lies in the fact that such structures(however formed) can be share by both conventional active devices aswell as the NDR devices in accordance with the present teachings. Ofcourse, in some applications it may not be necessary to use such typesof isolation regions, and the present invention is by no means limitedto embodiments which include the same.

[0117] A sacrificial oxide layer 1018 is then grown. It will beunderstood by skilled artisans that since steps 415 and 420 areconventional and not material to the present teachings, thatconsequently, they are not explained in detail herein. Additionalconventional processing steps (threshold adjusts for example, otherinsulating layers, or etch stop layers, or plasma/heat treatments) thatate incidental to the present teachings are also omitted to betterexplain the present invention.

[0118] Accordingly, as seen in FIG. 7, an ion implantation step isperformed (as part of step 425 noted earlier) of an impurity species(such as Boron) (shown as circles 1030) through sacrificial oxide layer1018 at a dose of approximately 2 to 3*10¹⁴ atoms/cm². For reasons setout in the prior King et al. applications, it is preferable to introducecharge traps at or near an interface of substrate 1000, in those areas1015 where an NDR element is to be formed. This can be accomplished byone of several known approaches, including ion implantation and/ordiffusion of an appropriate species, or deposition of a trap-containingdielectric layer.

[0119] While Boron introduced by an implant is preferably used herein,other elemental species may be used as charge traps as well, includingsilicon, indium, arsenic, phosphorus, antimony, fluorine, chlorine,germanium, or a metallic species. In some instances it may be possibleform traps using water (from a steam ambient) as well. Other mechanismsfor introducing the impurities can also be used, such as deposition of alayer of material containing the charge traps or charge-trappingspecies. For example, a doped silicon film can be deposited and oxidizedto form an oxide film containing a high density of charge traps.

[0120] An advantage of the present invention is that the onset of NDRbehavior can be controlled through selecting a target trap energy level.In turn, the trap energy level can be engineered through suitableprocess control parameters such as through selection of a particularimpurity species and/or trapping layer dielectric.

[0121] A mask can be used to selectively form the charge trapping regionin those areas 1015 where an NDR element is to be formed, and in someinstances so that it does not extend across an entire region 1015 ofsubstrate 1000, but is instead limited to some smaller areacorresponding to a later gate region of an NDR FET, or even a limitedportion of such gate region. In some cases, for example, it may bedesirable to form a trapping region only near a source region, or onlynear a drain region, depending on the expected device biasing andoperational characteristics. To maximize “source side” trapping, forexample, charge traps can be selectively arranged to extend from asource region, and not extend entirely through the channel to a drainside. A variable distribution of traps might be employed along a lengthof the channel so as to effectuate a trapping rate that variescorrespondingly and results in a faster switching speed.

[0122] It is expected that routine experimentation will yield a varietyof trap distributions for optimizing different characteristics of an NDRFET, such as switching speed, V_(NDR), noise immunity, leakage,subthreshold swing, V_(t), etc. Thus it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that while it is shown as extending throughout all ofregion 1015, the invention is not limited to such implementations, andin fact a variety of charge trapping structures may be usedadvantageously for different applications.

[0123] Thus, the present detailed description continues with adiscussion of FIG. 8, which is a schematic cross-sectional view showingthe step of forming an initial insulating layer (after sacrificial oxidelayer 1018 is removed) on the surface of the substrate in a first region1015 where an NDR FET of a preferred embodiment is to be formed as partof step 425 described above. This initial insulating layer 1020functions as part of a gate insulator for a to-be-formed NDR FET, andcan also serve as a charge trapping region for such NDR FET. It isformed on the surface of substrate 1000 in active areas 1015 by one ofseveral well-known techniques, including thermal oxidation of silicon.Physical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition can also beused. This electrically insulating layer 1020 can consist entirely or inpart of SiO₂, SiO_(x)N_(y), Si₃N₄, or a high-permittivity dielectricmaterial such as metal oxide or metal silicate or their laminates, or,of course, as a combination of one or more different material layers.

[0124] As with other processing steps noted herein, an advantage of thepresent invention lies in the fact that this layer (as patterned later)can be shared by both conventional and NDR FET devices. Alternativelyviewed, from a process integration impact, the existence of such layerin non-NDR regions during these NDR FET formational steps does notnegatively impact the structure, performance or reliability of anynon-NDR elements. Nonetheless, in some applications it may be desirableto mask and etch layer 1020 in those areas where non-NDR elements are tobe formed, so that charge trapping regions are not formed later acrossall regions of the substrate.

[0125] In an alternate embodiment, traps are formed by directlyimplanting the gate insulator layer 1020 using a combination of energiesand species that ensure a high concentration at a channel interface anda low concentration in a bulk region of layer 1020.

[0126] In yet other embodiment, multiple charge trap formation stepscould be employed, either as part of a standard process for making asingle NDR device, part of a fine-tuning process, or even part of astandard process for making different kinds of NDR devices on the samesubstrate. For example, some traps could be introduced in the channelregion before the gate insulator layer 1020, and some could beintroduced after to achieve a target trap profile, including trapenergy, trap concentration and trap distribution. The two different setsof traps could also be different impurities and/or implant species if itis desired to have multiple trap profiles, such as different trapenergies to trap different types of charge carriers, or different traptypes which trap/de-trap at different rates. In the case where differentNDR devices are being made at the same time on a substrate, appropriatemasking steps could be used to ensure that any additional subsequenttrap formation operations are only performed for selected NDR devices.

[0127]FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step ofselectively introducing a second type of impurity (at least in regions1015 where an NDR-FET of a preferred embodiment is to be formed) havingan opposite conductivity to Boron as part of a counter-doping step 430noted above. In a preferred approach, this second type of impurity isArsenic (shown with an “x” 1031 in FIG. 9) implanted at a concentrationof about 1*10¹⁴ atoms/cm² and at relatively low energy. This step hasthe effect of lowering a net p-type concentration later in a surfaceregion of the channel of an NDR FET. This leads to improvements in boththreshold (V_(t)) and sub-threshold swing (S) characteristics. Inparticular, a V_(t) of an NDR FET can be reduced, and a steepsubthreshold swing can also be realized, both factors which are criticalfor ensuring proper scaling performance in subsequent generations ofsubmicron devices. These improvements can also be exploited in the formof lower gate bias voltages and larger PVRs for integrated circuitapplications using the present inventions.

[0128] After the implantation step(s) (for traps and/or counter-doping)are completed, a thermal annealing step (corresponding to step 435 inFIG. 4) is preferably performed to reduce implantation-induced damage.This can be done in an inert ambient (Ar or N₂) or an oxidizing ambient(O₂ or H₂O) for a predetermined time (e.g., several hours) at apredetermined temperature (e.g, 550° C.). Other techniques (e.g. RTA),temperatures, and times will be apparent to skilled artisans from thepresent teachings and from routine experimentation for any particularimplementation. The purpose of this step is to further ensure that thetrap distribution will be concentrated at an interface with the channel,rather than within a bulk region of trapping layer 1020.

[0129] In the absence of an anneal step, for example, Boron mayundesirably diffuse rapidly with the aid of point defects into a bulkregion of the trapping layer, resulting in a high level of gate leakagecurrent. It is preferable to have a high concentration of traps at achannel/gate-insulator interface, and a relatively low concentration ina bulk region of the gate insulator. These concentrations shouldpreferably be at least two or three orders of magnitude in differencemeasured in terms of atoms per cubic centimeter. By keeping the trappingsites in this region (i.e., within about 0.5 nm of the channelinterface) gate leakage current is further minimized. The size of thisregion will vary, of course, from geometry to geometry for anyparticular generation of process technologies.

[0130] Other generally accepted techniques for reducing such implantdamage that are known in the art (at this time or later developed) willalso be equally useable with the present invention. Again, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that a trap formation processthat does not use an implant, or does not result in excessive trap sitesin the bulk of the gate region, will not necessarily require such anannealing step. For example, as discussed herein, if the traps areimplanted (placed) directly through the gate layer at a later time,their distribution can be concentrated in a particular region through asuitable selection of energies. Alternatively, a composite gate oxidecan be used (i.e., an implant, a thermal oxidation, and then adeposition; or a deposition, an implant, and then a thermal oxidation)to incorporate the traps at an interface using a thermal cycle instead.Further variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thepresent teachings.

[0131] In any event, at least in those implementations where trappinglayer 1020 is formed over the entire substrate, it is then selectivelyremoved (not shown) from the areas where conventional FETs are to beformed (region 1015′), and from any other areas (including in region1015) where it is not needed/desired.

[0132]FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming an additional insulating layer 1040 on substrate 1000 to serveas a high quality gate insulator for both NDR FET and other conventionalFETs (corresponding to step 440 in FIG. 4). Gate insulating film 1040can be formed by one of several techniques, including physical vapordeposition and chemical vapor deposition. Gate insulating film 1040 canconsist entirely or in part of SiO₂, SiO_(x)N_(y), Si₃N₄, combinationsof the same, or a high-permittivity dielectric material such as metaloxide or metal silicate or their laminates.

[0133] If the gate insulating layer 1040 is formed by thermal oxidation,then it may be located beneath layer 1020, and may be thinner in theareas where NDR FETs are to be formed (region 1015) than in other areas(including in region 1015′). In this case, the layer 1040 will serve asthe charge trapping layer rather than as a high-quality gate insulator,with charge traps formed via the incorporation of impurity speciesduring the thermal oxidation process or subsequent process steps.

[0134] It should be noted that additional layer 1040 is unnecessary inthose cases where conventional FETs are not being made at the same time,because a single oxide layer can be grown with sufficient thickness ofcourse as part of layer 1020. Nonetheless, a composite gate is preferredin mixed embodiments of NDR and non-NDR FET elements to accommodate theneed for additional gate insulators in the latter devices.

[0135] After the gate insulator is formed, an additional thermalannealing operation (corresponding to step 445 in FIG. 4) is preferablyperformed to further optimize a distribution of the charge traps—i.e.increase their concentration at a channel/gate-insulator interface. Thisoperation is preferably performed with a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) at1100° C. for a short time—i.e. between 1 and 10 minutes. Othertemperatures and times will be apparent to skilled artisans from thepresent teachings and from routine experimentation for any particularimplementation. The inventor has further determined that an RTAoperation is superior to a conventional furnace operation (i.e., 1 hourat 1000° C. in a N₂ ambient) in terms of enhancing a distribution oftrapping sites near the Si/SiO₂ interface.

[0136] As the distribution of trapping sites affects the ultimatepeak-to-valley ratio (PVR) of the NDR device of the present invention,selection/control of this process step can be exploited to set such PVRto a target value. In other words, different applications requiringdifferent PVRs could be manufactured by simply adjusting a time ortemperature of an RTA, or by selecting an RTA operation over a furnaceoperation to increase a PVR value.

[0137]FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step ofdepositing a gate electrode layer 1050 for both NDR FETs andconventional FETs. The gate electrode material 1050 may bepolycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) or a silicon-germanium alloypoly-SiGe), or it may be a metal or metal alloy or conductive metalnitride or conductive metal oxide. An advantage of the presentinvention, again, is apparent because the gates of both NDR FETs andconventional FETs can be made of the same material, and formed at thesame time.

[0138] If gate electrode material 1050 is poly-Si or poly-SiGe, it maybe doped in-situ during the deposition process or it may be dopedex-situ by ion implantation and/or diffusion, to achieve low resistivityand a proper work function value. The final gate electrode also mayconsist of a multi-layered stack, with a lowest layer providing adesired gate work function and overlying layer(s) providing sufficientthickness and conductivity.

[0139] The gate electrode layer 1050 is then patterned using standardlithography and etching processes to form multi-layer gate electrodes1060 and 1060′ (FIG. 12) which corresponds to step 450 (FIG. 4). At thispoint, an optional post-gate-etch re-oxidation anneal operation (step455 in FIG. 4) is performed in some instances to heal any damage to thegate insulator along the edges of the gate electrodes and possibly tofurther enhance a concentration (or formation) of charge traps.

[0140] While a steam anneal can be used (e.g., 10 minutes at 750° C. insteam ambient, followed by 1 minute at 1050° C. in N₂) for someembodiments, the beneficial aspects of such approach are not uniformacross all implementations. In other words, while some thinner (i.e.,5.5 nm) gate insulator applications may benefit from such operation,other relatively thicker gate (i.e., 7 nm) insulator applications maynot. This is because it is believed that while the steam may assist informing new water based traps near an Si/SiO₂ interface, the temperatureexposure also serves to counter-act this effect by driving some of thetrap-associated impurity atoms away from such interface into a bulkregion. When the gate is relatively thick, this results in a greatermigration/dilution of the trap concentration near the interface, thusresulting in reduced performance. Thus, the inventor believes that aconventional post-gate reoxidation anneal may be more useful for thinnergate oxides. Nonetheless, any comparable annealing mechanism that bothcreates new traps and yet minimizes diffusion of existing traps couldalso be employed for either application (thin or thick gate insulators).

[0141]FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view depicting a simplifiedexplanation of the resulting effects of one or more annealing steps,which, as noted above, are used to increase a density of charge traps1037 at a channel interface of the NDR FET of a preferred embodiment. Itwill be understood that this figure, and many elements therein—thetraps, the trap location, etc., are not drawn to scale, and that thedepiction is merely intended as an instructive tool for comprehendingthe present teachings.

[0142]FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming lightly doped source/drain regions corresponding to step 460 inFIG. 4. In a preferred embodiment, an n-type dopant such as Arsenic(shown with an * symbol) is implanted with an energy of 10 keV and adosage of 3*10¹⁵ atoms/cm². The inventor has determined that Arsenic issuperior to Phosphorus in terms of achieving a higher overall PVR for anNDR device of the present invention. While the reasons for this are notentirely clear, it is believed that As diffuses more slowly than P sothat a higher doping concentration can be achieved with the former. Thisin turn results in a higher peak electric field in a drain region of thechannel, creating more energetic electrons, and thus more chargetrapping. A lower VNDR can be achieved for similar reasons.

[0143] Accordingly, a desired PVR value can also be controlled to someextent for an NDR device through suitable selection of an LDD dopantspecies, energy, etc. It should be noted that the shallow source/drainextension regions may be formed in the NDR-FET areas 1015 simultaneouslywith the shallow source/drain extension regions in the IGFET areas1015′. The dopant concentration and junction depth of the shallowsource/drain extensions for the NDR-FET can be made to be the same, ordifferent from those for the NDR-FET, if necessary, by selective(masked) ion implantation. Furthermore, in some embodiments, it may bedesirable to form the shallow source/drain regions after the heavilydoped source/drain regions described below.

[0144] A conventional anneal operation may be performed after the LDDimplant (as noted in step 465) to anneal out any damage, and furthercontrol a target PVR.

[0145]FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the step offorming more heavily doped drain/source regions 1070 and 1071 for an NDRFET and other conventional FETs (as noted in steps 470-475). In thiscase, deep source and drain regions are offset from the edges of thegate electrode by spacers 1025 formed along the sidewalls of the gateelectrodes. The sidewall spacers are formed by conformal deposition andanisotropic etching of a spacer film in conventional fashion. Thethickness of this spacer film determines the width of the sidewallspacers and hence the offset from the gate electrode. A variety of suchspacer techniques are known in the art and can be used with the presentinvention. Again, preferably, sidewall spacers are formed at the sametime for both NDR and non-NDR FETs.

[0146] Source and drain regions (step 475 in FIG. 4) 1070 and 1071 areformed by ion implantation of n-type dopants such as arsenic and/orphosphorus and subsequent thermal annealing (step 480) usingconventional techniques to remove damage and to activate the dopants. Inthis particular implementation, gate electrodes 1060 are sufficientlythick to prevent implanted ions from entering the surface of substrate1000 underneath the gate electrodes.

[0147] As shown in a simplified perspective in FIG. 16, devicefabrication is completed (steps 485, 490 and 495 in FIG. 4) by formationof silicide 1085, 1080 on the surfaces of the source and drain contactregions and possibly the gate electrode to provide low-resistancemetal-to-semiconductor contacts, followed by deposition of one or moreelectrically insulating interlayer films 1075, 1077, formation ofcontact holes and filing of these holes with metal plugs 1081, 1086,deposition and patterning of one or more metal layers 1083 and 1087 toform interconnections, and a low-temperature (350° C.-450° C.) anneal ina hydrogen-containing or deuterium-containing ambient (forming gas).

[0148] Multiple layers of metal wiring, if necessary, may be formed bydeposition and patterning of alternate layers of insulating material andmetal. It will be understood that the silicide contacts 1080 and 1085may be formed of low resistivity phases of titanium silicide, molybdenumsilicide, cobalt silicide, or nickel silicide compounds, and may beconnected to only one of the gate or source/drain regions depending onthe particular application. The plugs 1081 and 1086 may be formed ofTungsten, Aluminum, Copper or other metallic materials. Insulating films1075 and 1077 may be CVD films, spin-on glass, and/or any other acceptedinsulating material, including air gaps. Metal interconnect layers 1083,1087 may be Aluminum, Copper, or some other low resistivity metal.

[0149] In this manner, a semiconductor device comprising one or moreIGFET elements and one or more NDR-FET elements can be manufactured on acommon substrate utilizing a fabrication sequence utilizing conventionalprocessing techniques. Those skilled in the art, of course, willappreciate that the aforementioned steps might be useful in otherprocessing environments as well, including for manufacturing other NDRdevices such as silicon based resonant tunneling diodes, two-terminalNDR FETs adapted as diodes, thyristors, etc.

[0150] While not shown explicitly, an NDR FET and a conventional IGFEThave a number of regions that are formed from common layers that arelater patterned, including: a common substrate 1000; a gate insulatorfilm 1040 and 1040′; a conductive gate electrode layer 1060 and 1060′;interlayer insulation layers 1075 and 1077; metal plugs/layers 1081,1083 and 1086 and 1087. Furthermore, they also share certain isolationareas 1010, and have source/drain regions 1070, 1071 and 1070′, 1071′formed at the same time with common implantation/anneal steps.

[0151] In some cases, there can be direct sharing of such regions ofcourse, so that the drain of an NDR FET can correspond to a drain/sourceof an IGFET, or vice versa. Regions can be shared, of course, with twoterminal NDR FETs adapted as diodes, as well. It will be understood thatother processing steps and/or layers may be performed in addition tothose shown above, and these examples are provided merely to illustratethe teachings of the present inventions. For example, additionalinterconnect and/or insulation layers are typically used in ICs and canalso be shared.

[0152] Experimental Data Results

[0153] Experimental NDR FET devices with drawn gate lengths down to 125nm were fabricated with the following basic parameters: 7 nm gate oxidethickness; 2×10¹⁴ cm⁻² channel implant dose; 1100° C.post-gate-oxidation RTA anneal; 3×10¹⁵ cm⁻² arsenic-doped LDD.

[0154] It should be noted right away that this prototyping process isnot identical to the preferred process described earlier. For example,no thermal anneal was performed before a gate oxide was deposited. Norwas a counter-doping implant performed in the channel (e.g., of As), tolower the V_(t) and subthreshold swing. A single layer of gateinsulating material was used. Thus, this prototyping process wasintentionally designed and primarily crafted for purposes oftesting/characterizing the expected behavior and performance of NDRdevices, and verifying their scalability and suitability forconventional MOS circuit applications. Consequently, the resultsobtained are not necessarily reflective of the actual results that wouldbe obtained for a commercial production, or for any particular actualimplementation of the present invention in a particular channelgeometry, within a particular fabrication facility, using a particularset of design rules, or a using a particular set of processingequipment.

[0155] Nonetheless the inventor submits that these test results areuseful for illustrating a number of basic key features and advantages ofthe present invention. Furthermore, they serve to further validate thebasic operational features of the invention, including a FET withswitchable negative differential resistance.

[0156] Dependences on Gate Bias and Gate Length

[0157] The dependences of NDR FET current-vs.-voltage (I-V)characteristics on gate bias and gate length were measured. FIG. 1 7Ashows how the transistor current varies with gate bias. Fairly typicalbehavior is observed for drain biases below V_(NDR), with the transistorcurrent increasing ˜linearly with increasing gate drive V_(gs)−V_(t).For drain biases above V_(NDR), the current decreases exponentially withincreasing V_(d). The valley current increases with increasing gatedrive, but not as rapidly as the peak current.

[0158]FIGS. 17B and 17C show how the peak current and valley currentrespectively vary with gate bias and gate length.

[0159] In FIG. 17B it can be seen that a peak drain current increaseswith increasing gate drive and also with decreasing gate length, asexpected.

[0160] In FIG. 17C it can be seen that a valley drain current alsoincreases with increasing gate drive, which is reasonable. However, thevalley drain current decreases with decreasing gate length. This is alsoreasonable, because energetic carriers (generated at a drain end of thechannel) ate trapped at high drain biases to effect an increase inV_(t). As the gate length is decreased, these carriers are trappedcloser to the source end of the channel and hence they increase thetransistor V_(t) more effectively.

[0161] As seen in FIG. 17D, the net effect of a decrease in gate lengthis a significant increase in the peak-to-valley ratio. It should benoted that at high drain biases, reverse-bias pn-junction breakdowncurrent is a significant component of the drain current because of therelatively high level of doping in the channel. Thus, to see the truevalley current of the NDR transistor, the source current must bemonitored. The dependence of the PVR for source current is plotted inFIG. 17E. The PVR increases to ˜100 as the gate length is scaled down to125 nm. Consequently, as can be seen in this test data, NDR embodimentsof the present invention are extremely scalable, thus ensuring theirutility in future deep submicron silicon processing technologies.

[0162] Ideally, the valley current of the present NDR device shouldcompare quite favorably with the off-state leakage current of aconventional MOSFET. In the present NDR FET device in fact, theoff-current can be controlled quite effectively (and differently than acurrent state of the art FET) by the areal trap density NT (number oftraps per unit area)

[0163] Temperature Dependence Data

[0164] The present invention is expected from a theoretical perspectiveto show temperature performance superior to other NDR alternatives,because, among other things, the average kinetic energy of an electronis higher at elevated temperatures. Thus, the trapping and de-trappingrates can be expected to increase, i e. the response time of the NDR-FETshould improve with increasing temperature. However, since the mean freepath of an electron in the channel will decrease, it is conceivable thathigher electric fields may be needed to generate electrons which areenergetic enough to cause the NDR behavior. The latter can be achieved,of course, in any number of ways previously described.

[0165] Additional temperature dependence data for one embodiment of anNDR device is thus illustrated in FIG. 17F. Again, while this device wasconstructed as a test vehicle, it demonstrates certain operationalbehaviors of various embodiments of the present invention, including thefact that an overall PVR value is substantially constant over a widetemperature range of 25° C. to 125° C. This is because, as can be seenin the figures, while a peak current increases with temperature, avalley current also increases. Accordingly, some embodiments of thepresent invention can be tailored to operate with relative temperatureindependence over a reasonably wide temperature range.

[0166] As can be seen in the graphs of FIG. 17F both the peak currentand valley current increase slightly as the temperature increases to125° C. The annotations on this graph include lines corresponding to adrain current I_(d), and symbols corresponding to a source currentI_(s). The solid symbols and line are for 25° C. measurement; opensymbols and dashed line are for 125° C. measurement.

[0167] The peak current increases by about 20%, while the valley currentincreases by a factor of ˜3 over the entire temperature range; this isrelatively small compared to a conventional MOSFET, in which the leakagecurrent increases exponentially with temperature. Overall, however, theNDR-FET peak-to-valley current ratio (the key performance metric for aNDR device) remains fairly constant over a wide range of temperatures.

[0168] Hence, the NDR FET of the present invention can clearly meet theoperating temperature specifications for commercial IC products. Infact, it is expected that optimized embodiments of the present inventionusing the aforementioned preferred processes described above can achievea PVR in excess of 10⁶ across a very wide temperature range, making themparticularly suitable for military, aerospace, automotive, and similartemperature demanding environments. This feature, in addition to itscompatibility with a conventional CMOS process, makes the NDR-FET standsout among all known NDR devices in its promise for high density ICapplications.

[0169] It should be noted that prior-art NDR devices such as the tunneldiode, resonant tunneling diode, thyristor, real-space transfertransistors, etc. show significantly degraded performance at elevatedtemperatures. For instance, a thyristor-based memory must operate with arelatively high (>1 nA) holding current in order to guarantee stableoperation at 75° C. A so-called single transistor (DRAM-based) SRAM willhave significant power consumption at elevated operating temperaturesbecause higher refresh rates must be used to compensate for higherpass-transistor leakage.

[0170] PVR & V_(NDR) Control Through Various Process Parameters

[0171] The effects of various process parameters on PVR and V_(NDR)characteristics were also examined. This was done by examining PVR andV_(NDR) values for various experimental splits which yielded workingdevices. Thus, as seen in FIG. 17G, the 7 nm gate oxide NDR test devicewafer which yielded the results of FIGS. 17A to 17F is designated asW#A3, corresponding to Wafer A3. Additional wafer prototypes were alsotested with various processing variations, including:

[0172] (1) different channel implant dosages for forming the traps(i.e., Boron at 2*10¹⁴ or 3*10¹⁴ atoms/cm²);

[0173] (2) different lightly doped drain species (P⁺ or As⁺) anddosages;

[0174] (3) different post-gate-oxidation annealing conditions (RTA orfurnace)

[0175] (4) different steam re-oxidation conditions

[0176] (5) different gate insulator thicknesses

[0177] PVR and VNDR values are summarized in FIG. 17G and FIG. 17H,respectively, for NDR FETs with drawn gate length 180 nm; drain currentvalues are noted with hashed bars, while source current values are shownwith solid bars. Several key observations can be made from this testdata, which is extremely useful from the perspective of effectuatingprecise PVR and/or V_(NDR) control for a particular embodiment of an NDRdevice. In particular, it can be seen that a desired target PVR/V_(NDR)value can be obtained by fine tuning one or more standard processoperations during a manufacturing process. This allows for a widevariety of PVR and/or V_(NDR) values, and further ensures thatpredictable, reliable yields and results can be obtained for an NDRprocess.

[0178] In a preferred embodiment, V_(NDR) is set to be slightly lowerthan one-half the power-supply voltage V_(dd), i.e. V_(NDR)<−V_(dd)/².Nonetheless, different VNDRS can be achieved at different areas of asemiconductor substrate through appropriate process controls asdisclosed herein.

[0179] Thus, as the test data shows, as a result of the unique structureand operational features of the present invention, a desired PVR and/orV_(NDR) characteristic is easily set and controlled within aconventional MOS manufacturing facility using one or more conventionalprocessing operations. This ease of manufacturability ensures thatappropriate target values for PVR and V_(NDR) can be achieved for a widevariety of target applications. While the present disclosure provides anumber of examples of process variations which can be used to control aPVR and V_(NDR) behavior, other examples will be apparent to skilledartisans from the present teachings. Thus, the present invention is byno means limited to any single variant, or combinations of variants ofsuch PVR and/or V_(NDR) process control techniques.

[0180] PVR and V_(NDR) Control Through Channel Implant Dose Control

[0181]FIG. 17G shows that higher PVR values are achieved with higherboron implant dose. This is expected because the density of traps iscorrelated with the concentration of boron incorporated into the oxidenear the Si/SiO₂ interface. As noted earlier, however, the concentrationof traps should not be made too high, in order to avoid trap-to-trapconduction.

[0182]FIG. 17H shows that V_(NDR) is slightly lower for higher boronimplant dose because of the higher average vertical electric field inthe inversion channel. (Larger values of V_(g) are required to achieve 1V gate drive, because V_(t) is larger.) For a larger vertical electricfield, the lateral electric field (hence V_(d)) does not need to be ashigh in order to create the hot electrons which can be trapped.

[0183] Accordingly, a desired or target PVR/V_(NDR) value can also beeffectuated by controlling the type of implant/dosage used in anyparticular manufacturing environment.

[0184] PVR and V_(NDR) Control Through Post-Gate-Oxidation Anneal

[0185] As seen in FIG. 17G, significantly higher PVR values are achievedwith an 1100° C. RTA as compared with the 1000° C. furnace anneal. Thisindicates that a higher density of traps at the Si/SiO₂ interface isachieved with an 1100° C. RTA. Thus a desired PVR value can also beeffectuated by controlling the type of thermal annealing step performedin any particular manufacturing environment.

[0186] At this time, the experimental data (as seen in FIG. 17H) doesnot show that V_(NDR) has a strong dependence on post-gate-oxidationannealing conditions.

[0187] PVR and V_(NDR) Control Through LDD Implant Dose

[0188] Significantly higher PVR values are obtained with As-doped LDD ascompared with P-doped LDD as seen in FIG. 17G. The inventor believesthis is the case because As diffuses more slowly than P so that a higherLDD doping concentration is achieved with As. This in turn provides ahigher peak electric field in the drain region of the channel, hencehotter electrons and more charge trapping. Apparently, in theexperimental wafers, the LDD ion implantation damage was not completelyannealed out for the higher dose (3×10¹⁵ cm⁻²) As implant, whichresulted in lower peak current and higher valley current and hencedegraded PVR. Again this can be corrected using known annealingtechniques.

[0189] In FIG. 17H, it can be seen that V_(NDR) is lower for As-dopedLDD as compared with P-doped LDD. This is because the drain biasrequired to achieve the critical peak electric field in the drain regionof the channel is lower (due to the higher LDD doping concentration).

[0190] Consequently, an LDD operation provides yet another mechanism forsetting or fine-tuning a desired PVR/V_(NDR) value using conventionalMOS process operations.

[0191] PVR and V_(NDR) Control Through Gate-Oxide Thickness

[0192]FIG. 17J and FIG. 17K show similar test data for PVR and V_(NDR),respectively, except for a slightly thinner gate oxide (5.5 nm). Thisdata is also useful because it illustrates yet another tool availablefor process designers to effectuate a variable PVR value. Namely, asseen in this figure, for all other parameters being equal, an overallPVR value is lower than for comparable NDR devices having a 7 nm gateoxide.

[0193] Accordingly, higher PVR values are also achieved with thickergate oxide. This is expected because a given density of charge traps(N_(T)) will effect a larger increase in V_(t) for a thicker gatedielectric:

ΔV _(t) ≈q*N _(T) /C _(ox)

[0194] As an example, for N_(T)=5×10¹² /cm² and 7 nm SiO₂ gatedielectric, V_(t)≈1.6 V, so that a “peak to valley ratio” (PVR) close to10⁶ should be attainable (assuming V_(gs)−V_(t)=1V and S is about 100mV/dec). The effective PVR also can be enhanced (by up to 100×) bydynamically varying the gate bias to either enhance the peak currentand/or to lower the valley current. This type of in-circuit PVRadjustment, during operation of an NDR device, is another benefit of thepresent inventions that can be used in some embodiments.

[0195] In FIG. 17K, it can be seen that V_(NDR) is slightly lower for athicker gate oxide because of the higher average vertical electric fieldin the inversion channel. (Larger values of V_(g) are required toachieve 1 V gate drive, because V_(t) is larger.) For a larger verticalelectric field, the lateral electric field (hence V_(d)) does not needto be as high in order to create the energetic electrons which can betrapped.

[0196] For these reasons, a desired PVR/V_(NDR) value can also beeffectuated by controlling the type and thickness of a gate insulatorused in any particular manufacturing environment.

[0197] PVR and V_(NDR) Control Through Steam Anneal

[0198] The effect of the steam anneal cannot be clearly ascertained fromthe experimental results. As seen in FIG. 17J, for a relatively thingate oxide (5.5 nm), the PVR is consistently higher if a steam annealwas employed. As seen in FIG. 17G, however, for thick gate oxide,however, the PVR is marginally (but consistently) lower if a steamanneal was employed.

[0199] V_(NDR) is generally lower in all cases if a steam anneal wasemployed.

[0200] These results suggest that, as noted earlier, a steam anneal ishelpful for forming additional charge traps near the Si/SiO₂ interface.However, in some cases it also enhances boron diffusion away from theinterface (and thereby lowers the trap-state density at the interface)if the gate oxide is thick.

[0201] Accordingly, it appears that for some geometries, a desiredPVR/V_(NDR) value can also be effectuated by using a steam annealprocess to manufacture an NDR device.

[0202] NDR FET Reliability

[0203] In the NDR FET, carriers tunnel through an ultra-thin interfacialoxide into and out of traps when V_(d)>V_(NDR). The vast majority ofthese carriers will not have sufficient kinetic energy to cause newtraps to be formed in the “tunnel oxide”. Even if new traps were to beformed in the “tunnel oxide” (e.g. by high-energy electrons in the tailregion of the electron energy distribution), they would likely serve toenhance the speed of the NDR FET, because these new traps would beformed closer to the Si/SiO₂ interface than the original traps.

[0204] Although reliability issues for the NDR FET were not testedexplicitly, the inventor believes that the existing body of knowledge onSiO₂ points to the fact that such devices should be as good or betterthan conventional MOSFETs. Based on the trend of increasingcharge-to-breakdown Q_(BD) (to infinity as oxide thickness decreases tozero) with decreasing oxide thickness, it is reasonable to expect thatthe “cycle-ability” of the NDR FET will be very high (e.g. >>10¹² cyclesbetween high-V_(t) and low-V_(t) states).

[0205] It is known that conventional hot carriers in the channel(i.e., >3.1 eV) are responsible for degradation in MOSFET performance,because of the damage which they cause to the oxide interface as well asin the bulk of the oxide. The NDR FET in fact should provide superiorresults, because in such device, the amount of hot carriers is limitedbecause only energetic carriers are generated (i.e. about 0.5 eV) andthe transistor turns itself off at high V_(ds). The energetic electronswhich tunnel into the traps embedded within the oxide are generally not“hot” enough to cause damage. Thus, the inventor expects the NDR FET tohave reasonably good reliability in commercial applications.

[0206] While this invention has been described with reference toillustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to beconstrued in a limiting sense. It will be clearly understood by thoseskilled in the art that foregoing description is merely by way ofexample and is not a limitation on the scope of the invention, which maybe utilized in many types of integrated circuits made with conventionalprocessing technologies. Various modifications and combinations of theillustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention,will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to thedescription. Such modifications and combinations, of course, may useother features that are already known in lieu of or in addition to whatis disclosed herein. It is expected, given the unique characteristics ofthe inventive device and methods (which permit a variety ofmanifestations), and the rapid progress in the arts of this field, thatadditional embodiments utilizing different yet-to-be developedmaterials, structures and processes will most certainly be developedbased on the present teachings.

[0207] It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompass anysuch modifications, improvements and future embodiments. While suchclaims have been formulated based on the particular embodimentsdescribed herein, it should be apparent the scope of the disclosureherein also applies to any novel and non-obvious feature (or combinationthereof) disclosed explicitly or implicitly to one of skill in the art,regardless of whether such relates to the claims as provided below, andwhether or not it solves and/or mitigates all of the same technicalproblems described above. Finally, the applicants further reserve theright to pursue new and/or additional claims directed to any such noveland non-obvious features during the prosecution of the presentapplication (and/or any related applications).

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a silicon based negativedifferential resistance (NDR) field effect transistor (FET) comprisingthe steps of: (a) providing a substrate; (b) forming a first NDR regionfor the NDR FET over a first portion of said substrate using a firstimpurity, said first NDR region being adapted for imparting an NDRcharacteristic to the NDR FET; (c) placing a second impurity in saidfirst portion of said substrate after step (b) to adjust a thresholdvoltage characteristic of the NDR FET; (d) forming a gate insulatinglayer for the NDR FET over said first portion of said substrate; (e)forming a gate electrode for the NDR FET; (f) forming a source regionand a separate drain region for the NDR FET adjacent to said gateelectrode, said source region and drain region being coupled through anNDR FET channel located in said first portion of said substrate.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the NDR FET operates with a negativedifferential resistance characteristic when sufficient charge carriersfrom said channel are temporarily trapped in said first NDR region. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein said first impurity is a first typedopant, and said second impurity is a second type dopant which isopposite to said first type dopant.
 4. The method of claim 1, furtherincluding a step: performing a first thermal treatment operation with afurnace for the NDR FET after steps (b) and (c) are completed.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, further including a step: performing a second thermaltreatment operation using rapid thermal anneal lamp in a pulsed heatedchamber for the NDR FET after step (d).
 6. The method of claim 1 furtherincluding a third thermal treatment operation performed after said gateelectrode is formed.
 7. The method of claim 1, further including a stepof forming a salicide contact to said gate electrode and/or one or bothof said source region and said drain region.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the silicon based negative differential resistance (NDR) fieldeffect transistor (FET) has a peak-to-valley current ratio (PVR) thatexceeds ten (10) over a temperature range of 50 C.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said PVR exceeds one thousand (1000) over a temperaturerange of 100° C.
 10. A method of forming a silicon based negativedifferential resistance (NDR) semiconductor device comprising the stepsof: (a) providing a substrate having a first type of conductivity; (b)forming a charge trapping region over a first portion of said substrateto form an interface with said substrate; (c) introducing trappingimpurities having a first type of conductivity into said charge trappingregion; wherein said trapping impurities form charge trapping sites insaid charge trapping region with an energy level adapted for temporarilytrapping charge carriers; (d) introducing additional impurities having asecond type of conductivity, which is opposite said first conductivity,to counter trapping impurities located in said first portion of saidsubstrate; (e) forming a gate insulating layer over said charge trappingregion; (f) annealing said gate insulating layer so as cause said chargetrapping sites to be concentrated substantially near and along saidinterface and form a charge trapping interface; (g) forming a gateelectrode over said gate insulating layer; (h) forming at least a firsthighly doped region and a second highly doped region adjacent to saidgate electrode, said first highly doped region and said second highlydoped regions being coupled through a current path associated with saidfirst portion of said substrate; wherein the silicon based negativedifferential resistance (NDR) semiconductor device operates with anegative differential resistance characteristic when sufficient chargecarriers from said current path are temporarily trapped along saidcharge trapping interface.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein saidsubstrate is silicon on insulator (SOI).
 12. The method of claim 10,wherein said additional impurities are introduced using an implantoperation.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein said additionalimpurities are used to adjust a threshold voltage characteristic of anNDR FET.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein said charge trapping siteshave an energy characteristic that is higher than a conduction band edgeof said substrate.
 15. A method of forming both a silicon based negativedifferential resistance (NDR) field effect transistor (FET) and anon-NDR FET using common processing operations performed on asemiconductor substrate, the method comprising the steps of: (a)providing a first region of the semiconductor substrate for the NDR FET;(b) providing a second region of the semiconductor substrate for thenon-NDR FET, said second region being distinct from said first region;(c) forming an NDR region for the NDR FET over at least said firstregion of the semiconductor substrate using a first layer doped with afirst impurity, said first NDR region being adapted for imparting an NDRcharacteristic to the NDR FET; (d) placing a second impurity in at leastsaid first region of the substrate after step (c) to adjust an operatingcharacteristic of the NDR FET; (e) forming a gate insulating layer usinga common processing step that is suitable for both the NDR FET and thenon-NDR FET over both said first region and said second region of thesubstrate; (f) forming a gate electrode using a common processing stepthat is suitable for both the NDR FET and the non-NDR FET; (g) formingsource regions and separate drain regions using a common processing stepthat is suitable for both the NDR FET and the non-NDR FET, said sourceregions and drain regions being coupled through an NDR FET channellocated in said first portion of said substrate, and a non-NDR FETchannel located in said second portion of said substrate.
 16. The methodof claim 15, further including a step of forming isolation regions usinga common processing step that is suitable for isolating both the NDR FETand the non-NDR FET.
 17. The method of claim 15, further including astep of forming a lightly doped NDR drain region for the NDR FET and alightly doped drain region for the non-NDR FET using a common processingoperation suitable for both the NDR FET and the non-NDR FET.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, further including a step of forming silicidecontacts to both the NDR FET and the non-NDR FET using a commonprocessing operation.
 19. The method of claim 15, further including astep of: performing at least one thermal treatment operation after steps(c) and (d) are completed.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein said NDRregion is only formed in said first region of the semiconductorsubstrate.
 21. The method of claim 15, wherein said NDR region is formedin both said first region and said second region during step (c), andfurther including a step: removing said first layer remaining in saidsecond region at a later time so that a first NDR region is not providedin said second region for the non-NDR FET.
 22. The method of claim 15,further including a step of a second NDR region for another NDR elementover a third region of the semiconductor substrate, said second NDRregion being adapted for imparting a second NDR characteristic to saidanother NDR element, which second NDR characteristic is different fromsaid NDR characteristic for the NDR FET.
 23. In a charge-trap basednegative differential resistance (NDR) element which operates with anNDR characteristic having a peak current and a valley current, theimprovement comprising: distributing charge traps in a trapping regionof the NDR element with a concentration and energy adapted so as toimpart a peak-to-valley current ratio (PVR) for the NDR element whichexceeds ten (10) over a temperature range greater than 0° C. andspanning at least 50° C.
 24. The NDR element of claim 23, wherein saidPVR varies by less than a factor of five in an operating temperaturespanning 25° and 125°.
 25. The NDR element of claim 23, wherein said PVRexceeds 1000 in an operating temperature range spanning from 25° to125°.
 26. The NDR element of claim 23, wherein said trapping regionforms an interface with a channel of a field effect transistorassociated with the NDR element.
 27. (Amended) A semiconductor structurecomprising: a semiconductor substrate; and a dielectric layer located onsaid semiconductor substrate, such that an interface region is formedbetween semiconductor substrate and said dielectric layer; a channellocated proximate to said interface region, which channel is capable ofcarrying a current that varies from a first current value associatedwith a conducting condition, to a second current value associated with anon-conducting condition, said second current value being substantiallyless than said first current value; a plurality of carrier trappingsites within said interface region, said carrier trapping sites beingconfigured for trapping carriers that are electrically biased by anelectrical control field to move from said channel into said interfaceregion; wherein said trapping sites are characterized by an energy levelthat is higher than a conduction band of said channel and lower than aconduction band of said dielectric layer and said trappings sites have aconcentration and arrangement so that said current in said channel canbe varied between said first current value and said second current valueby the action of said trapping sites adjusting said current inaccordance with a value of said electrical control field; furtherwherein a ratio of said first current value to said second current valueexceeds ten (10) over a temperature range greater than 0° C. andspanning at least 50° C.
 28. The semiconductor structure of claim 27wherein said ratio is substantially constant over a temperature range of100 C.
 29. The semiconductor structure of claim 28 wherein said ratioexceeds 10³ over said entire temperature range.
 30. The semiconductorstructure of claim 27 wherein said ratio varies by a factor of 5 oversaid temperature range.